Making The Most of it –  Maximizing Revenue From Each of the Channels Interview w/ Deniel Frey, H-Hotels

The H-Hotels Group operates in over 60 hotels across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and soon in France. Ranging from affordable budget hotels to elegant premium hotels.

Deniel Frey, Vice President of Revenue Management, provides insights into his work in GRANT and explains what hoteliers should focus on to maximize revenue from all distribution channels. Can one counter the massive marketing budgets of OTAs? What strategies should aspiring revenue managers be aware of? Deniel Frey is a graduate of the Management Center Innsbruck and holds a Master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management.

GRANT: When a hotelier assures you that dynamic pricing doesn’t work for his resort as it drives away regular customers, you would explain ...

Deniel Frey: Dynamic pricing is a proven strategy used successfully across various industries. It allows businesses to flexibly adjust pric- es based on demand and optimize occupancy. Concerns about losing regular customers are unfounded. Flight and fuel prices, that those customers pay to get to the hotel, also vary, and they accept them, otherwise, they wouldn’t be regular customers ...

Deniel Frey, Vice President Revenue Management, H-Hotels

Deniel Frey, Vice President of Revenue Management, provides insights into his work in GRANT and explains what hoteliers should focus on to maximize revenue from all distribution channels. Can one counter the massive marketing budgets of OTAs? What strategies should aspiring revenue managers be aware of? Deniel Frey is a graduate of the Management Center Innsbruck and holds a Master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management.

GRANT: As VP of Revenue Management at H-Hotels.com, what is your perspective on revenue management? Roland Hehn from HQ plus mentioned in the last GRANT that it all began with a sprawling Excel sheet ... A lot has happened since then, right?

DF: I’ve been in revenue management for 16 years and am very familiar with those spreadsheets. Nowadays, at least for us, Excel has taken a backseat. We visualize our data with a BI tool, and revenue management is fully automated through RMS.

GRANT: From your perspective as a VP, is there some kind of “subsidiarity principle” in the RM of such a large hotel chain like H-Hotels.com? How do you distribute responsibilities?

DF: Every revenue manager in our company is responsible for the overall revenue. We’ve established an, from my point of view, excellent structure where the commercial teams col- laborate closely. Of course, we in leadership roles provide guidance and support, and make decisions when teams can’t agree.

GRANT: What steps are you taking, both for individual hotels and overall, to achieve more direct bookings?

DF: DieseThe range of measures is broad, from pricing, e-commerce, traditional marketing to specific actions in each hotel. This includes better prices when booking directly, promoting these prices on various meta-channels, and newsletter campaigns with direct booking offers. We also offer exclusive deals and packages only on our website. To strengthen customer loyalty, we have implemented a loyalty scheme with various benefits and participate in programs like PayBack and Miles & More. We are always keen to expand on-site initiatives to offer our guests an optimal booking experience.

"We, as hoteliers, need
to create conditions where booking directly proves advantageous."

GRANT: For beginners in RM, it may sound contradictory to compete “with oneself” on OTAs in direct sales. How would you counter this impression?

DF: Yes, that might sound contradictory, but it’s not about com- petition. OTAs are crucial for sales and marketing, and it’s tough to change our guests’ booking preferences. We as hoteliers need to create conditions where booking directly proves advantageous. In RM, our focus should be to maximize returns from various channels.

GRANT#4 – From Zero to Hero

GRANT#4 – From Zero to Hero

This is not contradictory: Maximise your own knowledge around all things revenue management! Download the latest GRANT or all issues or order a high-quality print edition to your own front desk →

GRANT: Is there an alternative concept for hotels to avoid joining OTAs and rely solely on their own visibility and brand?

DF: Ohne Without OTAs, it becomes increasingly challenging, especially in city and business hotels. Hotels with a leisure focus and clear USPs certainly have opportunities. The Bleiche Resort & Spa in Spreewald is a case in point.

GRANT: How can one hide from OTAs on high-yielding days without losing visibility?

DF: One could do that, but it’s counterproductive. It negatively impacts the algorithm, affecting visibility and conversion. It is better to use high-yielding days to generate maximum rates to offset some of the commission.

GRANT: The 3 largest booking platforms invested over 3.5 billion USD in marketing in Q1 2023. How can a single hotel or hotel chain compete? What strategy should one develop to maximize these enormous marketing sums for one’s own hotel?

DF: This is a battle you can only lose, especially with generic keywords. OTAs spend vast amounts on phrases like “Hotel in Berlin” or “Hotel Center.” We can’t match that. We should focus on promoting our brands to guests specifically looking for our properties, highlight our USPs, and communi- cate them effectively. Most importantly, we should “capture” guests on-site – that’s where the greatest potential lies.

"OTAs spend vast amounts on phrases like ‘Hotel in Berlin’ or ‘Hotel Center.’ We can’t match that."

GRANT: In your opinion, what attributes should software and service offers (SaaS providers) for revenue management bring to the table? What matters?

DF: Flexibility is key! We can’t work with systems that are set in stone and can’t adapt to our needs. Having a say in system development is crucial for us. Every tool we use bears our imprint to some extent.

GRANT: How did H-Hotels.com discover HQ revenue? What benefits does your collaboration with HQ plus offer?

DF: H-Hotels.com and HQ plus have a long history, and after testing other providers, we thankfully found each other. HQ revenue offers the significant advantage of the previously mentioned flexibility. HQ plus incorporates a lot of feedback from the hotel industry into their products. The data provid- ed by HQ revenue greatly assists us in our pricing decisions.

"Modern revenue management should be as automated as possible."

GRANT: Is it reasonable to automate revenue management? How much can one rely on market solutions? Wouldn’t we outsource too much responsibility?

DF: Modern revenue management should be as automated as possible. No human brain can process and analyze as much data as a proper RMS, and there are very good solutions available now. It is right to delegate this responsibility to free up time to analyze really crucial aspects.

GRANT: H-H-Hotels.com is very successful in the market. What 5 tips you would give to budding forces in revenue management?

DF:  Don’t get bogged down in the details! Think outside the box! Revenue management alone isn’t enough – focus on total revenue and profitability! Include the “sales factor” in your decisions! You don’t know everything – always keep an eye out for new and innovative ideas.